Benzodiazepine Addiction Help

Sleeping Pill / Sedative / Tranquilizer Addiction Treatment

Benzodiazepines are a highly addictive class of sleeping pill or anti-anxiety medication sedative, or tranquilizer medication most often prescribed to treat anxiety, stress or panic in patients.

These “minor tranquilizers” can become highly addictive as your body becomes more dependent on them to function.

“Benzo” addicts begin to experience withdrawal symptoms or display “drug seeking” behaviours quite quickly when the medication is not present. Increasing tolerance to the effects of the drug is also indicative of active addiction.

If you or a loved one is battling with an addiction to sedative / tranquilizer medication, Recovery Direct can help you. Call today.

Help for sedative addiction is simply a phone call away. At Recovery Direct, our counsellors are able to handle your questions about benzodiazepine addiction, detox & long term treatment.

Your New Beginning in Recovery – Free From Benzos

Recovery Direct will create a personalised detox & rehab program to help you break your addiction for good.

Do You Have a Benzo Problem?

Benzodiazepines also known as “downers”, “trancs”, “benzos” or “nerve pills” are prescription medication “tranquilizers” that can easily escalate into an active drug addiction. Overtime behavioral changes begin affecting day to day function as work and family relationships begin to slide. Benzodiazepine withdrawal differs in severity between different patients. Anxiety and drug-seeking behaviour are the biggest indicators of a dependence issue.

Family Member on Benzos?

Benzodiazepine addiction treatment is much like any other hard drug addiction problem. Unfortunately due to it being a prescription based medication “mothers little helper” families are unaware or don’t view it as a “drug addiction” until it has progressed to a critical point.All too often families even “enable” benzodiazepine addicts without even knowing it. Speak to one of our counsellors about effectively treating benzodiazepine addiction in your family.

Benzodiazepine Detox

One just as to visit a wikipedia page to understand that accute benzos withdrawals requires a specilised environment & programme designed around the long term effects of benzodiazepines. In some cases it is harder to withdraw individuals from benzodiazepines than it is from street drugs like heroin or meth. Withdrawal effects can last for drugs like Heroin can withdrawal within 10 days”>months even years after recovery. Thus solid relapse prevention strategies need to be employed to combat the long-term effects of benzos after rehab.

Tranquilizers and sleeping pills are not intended to be used on a long term basis. For a short time frame they will help you calm down and sleep, but over longer periods of time they will begin to have an opposite effect.
One of the long-term use of side effects of benzodiazepine exposure is the “depersonalization effect”, this is a general feeling of disconnection from our immediate surroundings, relationships and / or interactions with other people. Further adverse effects include cognitive function, physical health, and mental health deterioration.

How People Get Addicted

Many patients become hooked by repeat prescriptions of these tranquillisers. Indicative “seeking” behaviours include stealing prescription pads from doctors offices, buying benzos from illegitimate sources (not prescribed) and / or progress to polysubstance abuse. In general people that have been exposed to benzos for a long enough time period inherent the addiction by alterations to their natural brain chemistry. In lower dosages, benzos are sedatives. In more moderate dosages, they help with anxiety. In higher doses they are considered to be “hypnotics”.

Recovery Direct Benzo Rehab

Benzodiazepine addiction is a relatively common addition and a particularly tough one to manage in terms of treatment. Patients start out as patients seeking legitimate medical help for common sleeping and anxiety disorders and stray into a world of chemical dependancy. With the nasty long-term withdrawal and side effects of benzos ceccastin the former sleep and anxiety issues return. Dealing with the benzodiazepine addiction needs to cater for this on top of long term treatment and addiction cycles that have entrenched themselves over the period of abuse.

Inpatient Benzodiazepine Rehab Centers in South Africa

History

Benzodiazepines were discovered by Leo Sternbach in the 1950s in his work by Hoffman La-Roche. The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (LIBRIUM ), quickly became a bestseller but was surpassed by the benzodiazepine diazepam (Valium , Stesolid ).

Benzodiazepines and Their Brand Names in South Africa

The following benzodiazepine brand names are distributed as Schedule 4 and 5 prescription medications in South Africa. Most benzodiazepine brands provide due warning to “pharma-codependence” or “abuse” on the flyer inserts, however it is a feigned warning in contrast to the addictive nature of these drugs and their potential for habit forming behaviors.

The historic fame and notoriety of these drugs came to light with the widespread uptake of Valium in the United States. There was a subsequent massive investment from “big pharma” in seeking new drugs that would reduce stress and anti-anxiety or produce calming effects that would help induce sleep or to be used as anti-depressants.

Effects
For short-term use, benzodiazepines can be valuable in a wide range of clinical conditions, sometimes life-saving. Almost all of the problems of benzodiazepines result from long-term use, beyond 4 weeks.

Side effects of long-term use of benzodiazepines.

Difficulty concentrating, memory loss

Drowsiness, dizziness, decrease tendency (Increased risk of accidents in traffic, at home and at work)

Depression and apathy (Contributes to the loss of work and unemployment)

Paradox inflammatory effect in some individuals

Contributes to meaningless disputes with others and breakdown due to emotional – and cognitive impairment.

Increased risk of suicide, especially in depression

Increased risk of death from overdose if combined with other drugs or alcohol

Passing through the placenta during pregnancy

Cognitive effects seen in varying degrees and affects everyday functions. It is not simply explained with impaired concentration and memory deficits. It affects the ability to stay organized, ability to structure and plan. Often, the cognitive effects clarified using a commonly used dementia. The so-called MMSE test used by the doctor in general practice. The negative impact decreases generally after tapering off, but there may have gone from 3 to 6 months or more in people who are severely affected.

After two to four weeks of use, the BZD be anxiety provoking. The medicine-related anxiety increases over time and can help to maintain the user in the long-term use.

After one to three weeks of use induce BZD-induced sleep disorder as first normalize weeks to months after use.